Create Your Wish List 

Wish lists are an important step toward being your very best self. Wish lists allow you to brainstorm freely about things you want, desire, or dream about, without any judgments or timelines getting in the way. These can include things you are not actively pursuing at this time. The idea is to be creative and have some fun.

After you have written your wish list, the next step is to divide them between dreams and goals. Dreams are long range ideas or concepts that are inspiring and really important to you while goals are short term, specific, measureable targets that will help you reach your dreams.

For example, suppose you have the worthwhile dream of being in outstanding shape. This dream would be a valuable lifelong pursuit. A good goal to go with this dream might be as simple as putting on your tennis shoes, and walking out to the mailbox every day. Once you are at the mailbox, you might choose to go for a walk or a run. This goal is a good one, is because it fits into our S.M.A.R.T. model of being Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Timely.

Dreams might seem big at first glance, and some dreams could look years into your future while others might span your entire lifetime. Dreams or Objectives are your ultimate destination, while Goals are the intermediate stops along the way. Dreams represent what you want and why, while Goals represent your plan to get you there.

Dreams need goals to support them, because the enormity of your dream can overwhelm and paralyze people. Shorter-term goals provide achievable targets that serve as stepping stones toward your dream.

When you only have goals but no dreams, you can easily fail, because you lose sight of your destination. You risk forgetting "why" you are pursuing these goals in the first place. Specific short-term goals may not be terribly motivating by themselves either; their power comes from their connection to a big inspiring dream.